Human
Factors, Ethics and Morality
Simona Teodorovic
July, 2018
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are used for a wide range
of purposes. In commercial aviation, they can be used for remote sensing,
gathering imagery and agricultural surveying. In the military, UAS have been
used for reconnaissance, attacks, monitoring targets, etc. These systems have further
been specifically developed for the purpose of reducing the loss of human
lives, whether it be by enhancing current vehicles (airborne) or designing
completely new ones that are ground-based. Unfortunately, military UASs also
initiate collateral damage.
Systems used in the military are effective because of
their increased accuracy (Wilson, 2014). Coupling the ethical and moral issues
of their use, many positive and negative consequences arise. Ethics relate to
actions carried out by moral agents and the evaluation of those acts (O’Fallon
& Butterfield, 2005). The issues related to the use of a UAS are based on
the action of the system, but with action being a continuing of the operators
decision (Wilson, 2014). If the discussed system is not autonomous, the main
ethical and moral concerns are solely related to the operator managing it. Additionally,
Wilson (2014) states that ethical issues also are of concern for “who and what
is influenced by the activities of the drone” (p. 2).
Another interest revolving around the issue of ethics and
morality is privacy. In war, a major role of UASs is surveillance and keeping the
men on the ground safe. Forces that are involved in combat have the right to
protect and minimize causalities, but this might come at the expense of
exposing other parties not related to the matter.
One of the greatest arguments is the responsibility of
decision-making. Many operators are part of a mission, however the decision for
taking out an enemy or firing a missile is on the Pilot in Command (PIC). An
insert from The Economist (2011) illustrates that ultimately there might not be
a difference whether the pilot is on board the aircraft or at a distant command
center. According to the author, “The legal defense for that missile killing
people who have not been proven to be terrorists or who have not been allowed
the chance to give themselves up is the same too” (p. 6).
Nowadays it is difficult to associate UASs with positive news,
which are not linked to war. For this reason, many do not see the favoring
advances it brings financially, legally and risk wise. The economic benefits
are far greater than the cost of manned forces and the decreased risk for any
combatant are supporting arguments for the use of the systems. Although the
operators and pilots are disconnected from the real-time images of war, they
are safe and far away from the war zone. Additionally, UASs are capable of
operating for a significant period of time. These factors, and many more, are
supporting reasons for continuing with the use of UASs.
References
Drones
and The Man. (July 30th, 2011). In The Economist. Retrieved on July
27th, 2018 from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2011/07/30/drones-and-the-man
O’Fallon,
M. J., & Butterfield, K. D. (2005). A review of the empirical ethical
decision-making literature: 1996-2003. Journal
of Business Ethics, 59, 375-413. doi:10.1007/s10551-005-2929-7
Wilson,
R. L. (2014). Ethical issues with the use of drone aircraft. Ethics in Science Technology and Engineering
2014 IEEE International Symposium, Chicago, IL, pp. 1-4. doi:10.1109/ETHICS.2014.6893424
No comments:
Post a Comment